Catching On
by Serenity2012
Summary: Ginny has always dreamed of playing Chaser for the Harpies, but there's a two-week trial period that seems even longer when she finds out ALL her room-mates are fans of the Boy-who-Lived. How can she tell them she's dating Harry Potter?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: This is going to be a two-shot. Sometimes when I get an idea for a story, I let it run on its own and suddenly I have a many-chaptered monster on my hands. Not this time. Still, this is one of my favorite ideas I've ever had for a fic. Hope everyone likes it.

I do not own Harry Potter.

**Catching On**

Ginny stuffed the map of the Quidditch pitch into her knapsack and sighed. She'd always dreamed about playing Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, but somehow her fantasies hadn't included a two-week tryout session or staying in tents with all the other hopefuls. _Best get on with it._

Opening the flap and walking inside was like a step into another world. The inside was pure chaos. Music blared, clothes were strewn across the floor and a brown-speckled owl was flying around the room, shedding feathers. Before she could take it all in, a beautiful African American girl came bouncing over to her and grabbed her by the hand.

"You're Jenny?" she asked brightly and her smile was so infectious that Ginny grinned back.

"It's Ginny, and you are?"

"Oops sorry, wasn't sure how to pronounce it. I'm Brenda Liss. Our beds are right next to each other's. Come on, I'll show you!" She danced over to the opposite side of the room, dragging Ginny behind her. _Is this training already?_ she wondered, but couldn't say anything since she was being swept into a second round of introductions.

"Over there, the girl with the curly blonde hair is Serena."

"Hi."

"Next to her is Sarah."

"Hey."

"Then Tori, Anne, and Emily. That's it. Us seven. The rest of the competition is out in different tents."

Ginny nodded at all of them and there was a chorus of "Nice to meet you"s, but it was pretty obvious that everyone needed time by themselves to get settled. The alarm whistle was set to blow at 5:00 next morning and then they'd hardly be a spare moment left to unpack.

Ginny approached her trunk guiltily. She'd mostly dumped everything in all at once, so now it seemed like a casserole of clothes, books, food, and pictures. Picking things out one by one, she noticed a small rectangular package near the top of her mess, topped with a conspicuous red bow. _Harry._

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she grabbed at the package eagerly, tore off the paper, and gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a pretty necklace, mostly gold, with a Snitch the size of her thumb-nail fluttering on the end. His note read:

_Hey Gin,_

_I hate to be without you for a couple of weeks, but I know you'll make an amazing Chaser. The Harpies will be lucky to have you! Included is a little trinket. Do you remember playing Cho for the Quidditch Cup the first day we kissed? I got the Snitch from McGonagall and shrunk it down to jewelry size to remind you of the two things you caught that day._

_Love, Harry_

For the first time since she'd left the Burrow, Ginny relaxed into herself. Just knowing her boyfriend was thinking about her helped her feel strong.

"Are you a Seeker?" Brenda asked from behind her. The other girl had changed into a pair of Holyhead Harpies boxers and a tank top for sleep, but she still appeared wide awake.

"No. Well, I guess I played some in school, but I'm much stronger as a Chaser," Ginny said, reaching behind her to put the necklace on.

"What are you doing with that then?" she questioned, making a jab with her finger.

"It was a present," Ginny said, simply. Brenda was nice, but she didn't need to know her whole history yet.

"Yeah, my brother got me something too, called a Remembral. Useless thing, but I guess it's the thought that counts."

"Maybe you should give him a list next time."

"And say what? I'm only really after a new broom and those Lightningbolts are expensive. My family doesn't have that kind of money to spend. They're all hoping I'll make it here as a Keeper, so I'll be able to send something back." Ginny looked Brenda over, noticing her tall frame and lean muscles. She could probably block more ground than Ron could, based on size alone.

"Well, I hope you get it too. It would be fun to be on a team together," though the truth was there were only eight positions available and most of the girls would go home disappointed. The Harpies needed a new chaser, keeper, and seeker; plus recruits to fill out their reserve team after the deaths they'd suffered in the war. It was a sign that the world was recovering when people started hitting each other with Bludgers again, instead of jinxes.

Ginny's concentration was broken when Emily let out an excited squeal. "Finally! It sticks!" she said.

Wondering what on earth she could be going on about, she and Brenda turned to see the brunette finish tacking a poster to the wall. "Don't you guys think he's gorgeous?" Emily asked, sighing, and as she climbed off her bed, Ginny was confronted with the smiling picture of… Harry Potter. _Oh no._

"Well, duh," Sarah said, tossing a strand of straight, creamy blonde hair over her shoulder, "Those eyes!"

"And that hair. Just makes you want to run your fingers through it," Serena chimed in.

"Are all you fans?" Ginny asked, hesitantly.

Emily, Sarah, Anne and Serena nodded. Tori said, "I'm President of his fan club."

Still holding out hope for her last room-mate, she whirled her head to confront Brenda, only she wasn't there. She was digging through her luggage. When she emerged, she was carrying a cloth doll, with a poorly-sewed lightning bolt scar on the forehead. "I've had him since I was seven," she admitted.

The rest of the girls burst out laughing, clutching their sides. Ginny sat down without saying anything. Her cheeks were burning.

"Well, that's two things we have in common: Quidditch and the Boy-Who-Lived," Emily managed to get out between chuckles.

"Wait," Tori said, "We don't know about Ginny yet." Ginny felt six pairs of eyes lock on her and swallowed. _What am I going to tell them?_

"Um…. Well, he's definitely good-looking."

"You can say that again."

"I don't have his poster or anything, but, of course, I think he's great…. You know, everything he's done…." Ginny knew that this was a rather hopeless explanation, especially when she wanted to go on and on about all of Harry's good points, but she thought it would be a smart idea to keep the truth a secret, at least longer than the first day.

Everyone seemed to accept her answer fine. Emily pulled out a tabloid magazine, Star, and flipped to the very back page. "They say he's got a girlfriend though."

"But who knows how long that'll last?" Sarah said, snapping on a piece of gum. Ginny narrowed her eyes, unsure of how she'd get along with this particular room-mate if they both ended up on the team. _Harry will be coming to watch my games, after all._

"I don't know," Serena mentioned, "He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to mess around."

"He's not," Ginny inserted before she could help herself. Brenda looked at her strangely, brown eyes silver now that night was descending upon them. A second later, she shook her head, like she thought she was being silly.

"I have an older brother who knew Harry from school," Ginny quickly tried to cover her tracks. "He said that Harry's never had more than two girlfriends in his life."

"Really?" They all seemed interested with this news. Ginny was peppered with questions.

"Have you met Harry then?"

"Is he just as dreamy in person?"

"He's not crazy, right? I mean, I didn't believe all those reports about him in the Prophet, but where did that _come_ from?"

"Do you think your brother could get me an autograph?"

"Yes, me too!" Pretty soon, they were all clamoring for autographs and Ginny was starting to feel annoyed. No wonder Harry didn't want much to do with her as a kid if she was this interfering.

"He doesn't really like people approaching him because he's famous or when they want something out of him. I've never heard of him signing autographs. Ever."

Sarah gazed down at her perfectly-manicured nails. "Maybe she's lying. Maybe she doesn't know Harry at all," she said, bitingly.

Ginny stood up instantly and grabbed her wand. Brenda and Emily hurried over to her and pinned her arms behind her back, while Serena scooted away from Sarah, like she couldn't stand being close to her.

"That was out of line," Anne reprimanded, giving Sarah a stern look.

"We believe you Ginny," Tori's voice piped in.

Ginny felt her anger brewing just beneath the surface. She was very tempted to show Sarah Harry's letter and watch the blood drain from her face, but then, almost as if he was standing right next to her, she heard him mutter, _She's an idiot, Gin. Someday, it's going to come back and bite her in the arse. Until then, you can wait. Is it really that important for her to know that I love you? You know I love you. So much._

Growling, she threw her wand on her bed. She collapsed onto it soon afterwards not meeting anyone's eyes. "I'm going to sleep. Sarah? You're a Chaser? You better get some rest because I'm going to be wiping the field with you tomorrow."

One by one, the girls all turned out their lights. Ginny fell asleep to the sound of their collective breathing, a lot like the whooshing a Quaffle makes when it is thrown through the hoop. _Only thirteen days until I'm back with Harry again…._


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: I do not own Harry Potter. I hope everyone likes this chapter as much as the last.

**Catching On**

Two Weeks Later

Ginny felt Sarah's hawk-like gaze on her back. _She needs to stop making me the target. _It would be okay if the other girl was just after the Quaffle Ginny had tucked into the crook of her elbow, but the way she was flying, just barreling through the air, suggested it was more than that. _She's going to miss seeing the- _CRUNCH_- Bludger._

Sarah's grunt of pain came twenty feet lower than her last location. Her broom was aimed straight at the ground. Not knowing why she would spare the witch even this ounce of sympathy, Ginny told her to "Suck it up," before speeding again towards the goal posts.

When she got near enough, she pulled back her arm, released the red ball from her grasp and watched it go soaring through the hoop. The enemy Keeper, a girl named Astrid Deary, cursed loudly and threw down her hands. The crowd was going wild.

It had been a hard couple of weeks for the competitors. Every morning, they had to wake up before dawn for warm-ups and exercises. Keepers and Seekers were given Quaffles and Beaters' bats, told "any decent player is able to cover their teammates' position, so if you want to prove to us you're worth the money we're spending just on your practice jersey, don't stand there. Do something."

Ginny had impressed the captain, Gwenog Jones, with her versatility, which is why she was one of the fourteen girls left: her, Sarah, Wendy Lackett, Grace Foger, and Maci Janton were out for the three Chaser positions. Brenda was still in it for Keeper, along with Astrid. There were also two seekers and four beaters left, perfect for a last-day scrimmage.

Ginny shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Wendy, throw it here," she called out to the other girl, who tossed the Quaffle over her shoulder and then sped away. Ginny surged forward, this time aiming for the left hoop. She changed the angle of her shot just at the last moment, after Astrid had lurched in the wrong direction.

"Score!" someone yelled. Ginny would have guessed it was one of the red-heads taking up a large block of the stands. All the girls were surprised (and thrilled!) to learn that their family and friends had been invited down to the pitch to watch them play, though their screaming and cheering had assaulted them practically from the moment they woke up.

"Lookie here, folks," the commentator sounded excited, "It appears GiGi Michaels has spotted the Snitch!" Ginny held her breath while her team-mate executed a seriously risky dive, her opponent right on her heels. "Almost got it…."

The second the little gold ball fell into GiGi's hand, Ginny knew that they had won. She was practically tackled by Brenda who had become an increasingly good friend to her, "Impossible! Amazing! Can you believe we actually did it?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Ginny asked, "I mean, I understand if you doubted your own Keeping Skills… but you had to know Wendy, Grace and I are so good there would hardly be anything for you to do." Brenda could tell Ginny was teasing, but gave her a playful punch in the shoulder anyway.

"You little minx. Well, come on, I want you to meet my parents. It looks like my brother came also." Grabbing Ginny's broom by the handle, she tried leading her over to that corner of the bleachers.

"You're always dragging me places. I assure you if you let me go, I'll come of my own free will."

"Fine," Brenda relented, though there was a glimmer of amusement in her eyes, "but hurry up." When they touched ground, Ginny noticed how shaky her legs were. Games at Hogwarts only lasted a couple of hours usually. Playing half the day would take some getting used to.

"Mom, Dad, Jeremy, this is Ginny. Ginny, this is everyone." They all chatted for a while. Ginny learned more about Brenda's upbringing at an all-girls wizarding school in southern England. It sounded interesting, but she was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the way the brother was looking at her. After ten minutes, she used the excuse (it didn't matter if it was true), "I've got to go see my _boyfriend_ now. Brenda, do you want to tag along?"

"Oh, yes," Brenda squealed, bumping hips with her, "You never mentioned a boyfriend before. What's with all the secret-keeping?"

"You'll see," Ginny said mysteriously. Before they could get there, Anne, Tori, Emily, Serena and… Sarah came bounding up, though _she_ stayed skulking in the background, nursing a broken arm. _I hope it hurts._

"Gwenog said the people who were cut could still come see the game. You guys did great!" Anne mentioned. She didn't seem bitter at all.

"It was perfect Quidditch conditions," Ginny made sure to point out.

"Right, that was it," Emily snorted. "Where are you guys heading?"

"Oh, you won't believe this!" Brenda gathered them in together, like she was conducting a secret meeting, "Red over here has been hiding a boyfriend from us. I think we all need to check this guy out, make sure he's good enough."

All of the girls seemed awed, but didn't understand it when Ginny broke down in a fit of giggles, "Trust me, you guys are going to love him. Just not too much," she added, warningly. Though Ginny tried to forget it, she still had a jealous streak in her. How else was she supposed to feel when girls all over the country, including her friends, were gaga over Harry? They even hung up pictures of him!

"I'm still reserving judgment," Brenda said. Everyone besides Sarah nodded, but even she followed the group when they started moving towards the stands.

"So what should we be looking for?" Brenda asked. As the tallest of all the girls, she could see over the tops of people's heads, but Ginny still saw him first: "It's this way."

Harry was talking with Ron, so his back was turned to them as they approached. Ginny could usually appreciate this angle, too, but right then she was nervous about how her room-mates would react.

"Hey," she murmured, once she was close enough to him, "I've brought some friends over. Try and go easy on them."

Apparently he wasn't paying so much attention to what she said, just that she had said it. He whipped around excitedly, "God, I've missed you Gin!" And then he kissed her. It was the Gryffindor Common room all over again. Ron cursed under his breath, "A minute ago, I thought I couldn't get more annoyed than having my best mate whine about seeing my sister again. Now, I have to deal with them snogging."

Ginny pulled back, grinning. Nothing in the world could compare to having Harry Potter, not the Boy-who-Lived but just Harry, as a boyfriend. Speaking of which….

Brenda's mouth was gaping open. Anne and Tori were leaning against each-other, looking like they'd fall over if it wasn't for the support. Serena was flustered, but handling it well. Emily just kept saying, "No way," over and over again. Ginny's eyes followed the line of girls to Sarah, who she was disgusted to see was smiling painfully at Harry and combing blond hair over her shoulder with her fingers.

Harry, who just seemed to realize that they had an audience, blushed. "Um, hi. Nice to meet you. I think I saw you cheering for Ginny earlier," he grinned sheepishly.

"You're- Harry- P-P-Potter!" Tori couldn't have known she sounded very much like Quirrel at that moment.

Harry flattened his bangs, uselessly, "Yes… I am."

"I've got your poster at home," she said, dazed, then clamped a hand over her mouth, "Did I just tell you I have your poster at home?"

He nodded, "But I'm willing to forget if you are."

"While we're letting things slip, Ginny," Sarah's voice dripped sweetness, "You might as well tell us what' s really going on here."

"What do you mean? We're talking to my brother and my boyfriend." _Since, apparently,_ _there isn't anyone here to see you,_ Ginny felt like adding, but bit her tongue against saying anything snarky.

"Boyfriend! Yeah, right! It's really nice of you, Harry, to pretend to date Ginny just because she wants to save face with the girls, but we've all caught on to your little trick. You can fess up now."

His eyebrows came crashing together, like two waves, "Now, wait a minute…"

Sarah steam-rolled on, "You're the Chosen One! That means you can choose any girl you want." She squeezed his arm, suggestively, "There's no way that Ginny's it for you…."

_Apparently none of the fan magazines have reports on his famous temper,_ Ginny thought proudly. She could see it in his eyes, which were full of dark shadows.

Harry pointed his wand at Sarah's face. She shrinked away a little bit, but mostly tried to save the situation by putting her hand on his chest.

He shrugged it off, "Don't think I won't hex girls," he warned, "I know many who are a good deal smarter than me, so if one asks for trouble, I assume they can take care of themselves. If Ginny wanted to, she could Boogey-Bat hex me into oblivion, or I would do it to myself, if I thought that I'd done something to hurt her.

Out of all the guys in line to date her, she chose me. I still don't know why, only it doesn't have to do with my fame or my fortune. She's the best thing in my life, and if you're bad-mouthing her, the only thing you're going to get from me is a good jinx up the nose. Understand?"

"Noooo!" Sarah wailed, trying to push Ginny away. Harry was really mad now. He made a decisive cutting motion with his wand and muttered "Imparvia". All of the girls look confused when the blue light around Sarah's arm died away without doing anything.

"It just means you can't heal the bone with magic," he explained. "You won't always get what you want when you want it. It's better that you learn that from me now, than Death Eaters later."

"I- I-"

"Was just leaving." Harry supplied, looking perfectly happy again.

"Yes-s-s, bye," Sarah scurried away, pink robes quickly getting lost in the crowd.

"She runs funny," Ginny commented, absently, before grabbing Harry's hand, "Thank you for that."

"It was my pleasure."

"What are the rest of you going to do?" Ginny asked her friends.

"I think we just need… a moment… to take this all in," Tori was having some trouble breathing.

"Why didn't you tell us the first day?" Brenda demanded, "We could have saved ourselves from looking like idiots."

Ginny squirmed uncomfortably, "You know how you think of Harry differently just because he's The Teenager who Defeated Voldemort?" They quick-glanced at Harry, before turning away embarrassed, "I've had people go from seeing me as Ginny Weasley to Girl-Who's-Dating-the-Most-Awesome-Guy-on-the-Planet. It was important that you got to know me first, so that titles wouldn't matter as much."

"We would have gone crazy, wouldn't we?" Brenda said with a flicker of a smile.

Ginny nodded, "Even more than your usual levels of insane."

"If we promise not to drool over your boyfriend," Emily asked, while Harry pretended not to be listening, "Can we still hang out sometimes?"

"Of _course._ How about we all go to Diagon Alley next weekend?"

"Sounds good." They all gave various forms of consent. Brenda, digging the toes of her sneaker into the dirt, took this as the cue to leave. "Okay, well, we'll see you then…. I should probably find my family again."

"Wait!" Ginny grabbed her by the arm, stopping the girl in her tracks while she whispered in her boyfriend's ear. At first Harry looked uncomfortable, but then he locked eyes with Ginny and titled his head to the side, in what was obviously acceptance of her idea.

Rifling through his backpack, Harry found a notebook and pen. He settled himself on one of the bleachers, and looked up at the girls still gathered around Ginny like a guard, "Who should I make the autographs out to?"

Epilogue:

"Owls are here, owls are here!" Ginny's voice carried through the entire house. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were at her side in an instant, wondering if this was the news they were waiting for.

_Dear Ms. Weasley,_

_The Holyhead Harpies' staff is pleased to inform you that you have qualified for the position of Chaser on the regular team for the upcoming Quidditch season. Practice starts July 12__th__ at 8:00 AM._

_Gwenog Jones_

_P.S. Also included is a copy of the new Holyhead Harpies' posters going up in September._

The foursome looked at each-other astounded. Ginny couldn't believe all her dreams were coming true! But before she could break out into full on celebration mode, she noticed Harry's dark expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"Tell me."

"It's just, guys are going to have pictures of you hanging up in their bedrooms…."

She laughed, feeling a twist of irony in her gut, "Worried, Harry?" She wrapped his arms around her waist, "Well, you shouldn't be. I'll tell all the other Seekers… I've already been caught."

**Author's Notes: Over 20 reviews! I really have to thank you guys- everyone who favorite-d or story alert-ed- but especially those people who took the time to write in: Poser16 (Hope you like it), Elise Suzanne (I've read some of your fics and really liked them), NegligibleNania (Thank you. I'm actually fixing a typo with that last line.), nellstyx12 (Ginny wasn't the one to hit her with the Bludger, but I hope it still counts), Aggiebell (Hope you like the rest), rb2312 (I'll save the engagement for some other time, okay? It is a good idea), Lightbulb Moments (I'm glad you like the idea. Also, I love your username), Hp twiheart (Hope this is quick enough), kiwifan13 (I can't help but loving putting Ginny and Harry in awkward situations), pinkdreams (I got it finished. It's my first "complete"!), ladystalke (Thanks so much), Pink Wolf Princess (Definitely one of my nicest reviews, plus I like the use of the word "bloody"), Mystery's realm (I'm glad you gave my story a shot. Maybe, you'll become a convert), Dreamsb223 (I hope the wait wasn't too long), Youji Sagan (Thanks, I always try to keep my characters as close to the book as I can), .223 (Thank you so much!), People-Are-Crazy (Thank you. I noticed how you've reading both of my HP fics. I appreciate it a lot.), mechanical-cat-is-rusty (I hope this is soon enough), Cass (Thank you so much!), CrazyDyslexicNerd (Is your username a reference to PJO too? Love the series, even if I haven't read the Lost Hero. Thanks for reviewing), and RemusandRomulus (my first review for this story. Thanks so much!)**


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